Ahhhh.....................

　Tetra makes a feverish noise.
　I increase the force of my rubbing.

　'Ahhhh, oh no, that's not.....tight.......heeeeeeeee....'

　Tetra makes a pained sound.
　She breathes hard, turns back around and looks at me with moist eyes.

　I didn't expect this usually cool guy to react like this...
　It's quite interesting.

　I increase the strength I can put into my fingers.

　

　I reduce the force of my rubbing.

　'Oh ... harder ... heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
　I trace Tetra's body with my fingers over my clothes.
　Bike-like, Tetra shudders.

　'You don't have to push yourself, okay?　I think it's time to call it quits.
　I say as I crawl my fingers over Tetra's body.

　Tetra wriggled around.
　'....Don't rush me...'

　You make a sweet voice at me.
　But earlier....

　Did I say no?
　

　I don't get it.

　What do you mean by that?
　Oh ... rubbing it hard ...
　It's gonna hurt, isn't it?

　Tetra says, her cheeks flushing.

　'Oh I like the pain...'

　You can't help it.
　I grinned and increased my strength.

　'Hi!

　You just said 'no', right?

　Please don't stop.....
　You're a selfish person. You're a selfish person. So why don't you do me a favor and I'll do you a favor.

　I say, crawling my fingers impatiently.
　Tetra says with a ragged breath as she wriggles around.

　'Oh, please .......................rub it. .....

　I can't hear you.
　I could make you say it again here, but....

　I look at Tetra.
　He's in a lot of pain.
　He's out of breath. He's in a bad way, but he's in a bad way.

　You can't blame him. I'll do what you want.

　You'll need to be able to use it to get the job done.

　Tetra shuddered and gasped upward, her mouth half open.
　Drool dripped from her lips and she plopped down on the floor.

　The door opened almost at the same time.

　'What are you doing in the morning! ........Huh?
　What's going on?

　I take my hand off Tetra's shoulder(...) and turn to Seo-yeon as she comes in.

　'Um ... what were you doing?'
　Get a massage. Look, didn't you sort out the register yesterday?　That's why my shoulder was banged up.

　So the two of them were taking turns massaging their shoulders.
　But the hard work paid off, as the population turned out to be 32,423.

　This is how the taxpayers' money is collected.

　Come to think of it, we had a contract to do Bartolo's place too....
　What do I do?
　It's too much trouble.

　"So what's up with Seo-yeon?

　When I asked her that, Seo-yeon's face turned bright red.

　''No ... well ... misunderstandings ... no, not that!　I have a letter from King Rosais!
　Seo-yeon said that and handed me a wooden letter.
　What the hell is this?

　What does it say?
　To sum it up, 'You better start teaching me how to make paper.'

　You've become a vassal, and you can teach them differently.
　It's up to the price, though.

　Tetra. Let's go.
　Ummm... more...

　When I shake Tetra, she wiggles and makes a sweet noise.

　What are you talking about?
　You're not rubbing my shoulders.

　''You're ... nasty ... haha ...''
　Tetra raises herself up and shakes her head from side to side.
　She makes a cracking sound and stretches.

　Tetra, who has regained her dignified expression, turns to me and says, ''Let's go.
　'Let's go then.'
　First, drool.

　Tetra blushed and wiped her lips.




　'Well, it's just as I wrote in my letter. Show me how to make paper.
　Sure. But will you promise me one thing?
　What?
　I'll tell you the terms.

　"We want wheat for the price. And could you stop making so much wheat right away?
　I'm looking to paper as the main source of revenue for the Ass territory.
　As for wheat, we cut taxes on it.

　So it's not good to have a lot of it on the market and the price goes down.

　 I'll give you one year.
　A year from now....　
　I'd like two or three years if I could, but...
　I guess I didn't have a choice.

　I handed King Rosais a piece of paper with instructions on how to make the paper.
　King Losey takes it with a smile on his face.


　"By the way, have you ever heard of the art of iron-making?
　'Well, I don't know if I can make it or not, but in principle, just in principle...'
　Tell me!

　King Rosais leaned forward.
　Well, we did an experiment to reduce iron oxide in science in junior high school, right?
　It was five at one point, and I understand that. Not many people don't know about the reduction reaction. If you've had a decent compulsory education.

　And I know that because I get a glimpse of it in history but....

　Yes, sir. But I can only know what I've heard about it through hearsay. So I can't make it for sure. I need you to take that into account. And I want wheat as a reward.
　No problem. But the wheat for the reward is if our nation's blacksmiths succeed in making steel.

　Well, of course.
　I hope the blacksmith will succeed in making steel.

　Yes, sir. First, we'll need iron ore and charcoal.

　Iron ore is made of iron oxide.
　You have to reduce it with charcoal first.

　And we need high temperatures to produce the iron.
　I'm asking you to show me how to do it.

　You're impatient.

　They use a tool called the "fluoroscope. Well it's supposed to be simple in construction, so...
　I'm going to show King Lossius the structure of the bellows.
　Words can't do it justice.

　"All that's left to do is to take the spongy iron and heat it up and beat it with a hammer to remove the impurities.

　In a manner of speaking, this is how the steel will be made.
　That's as far as I can tell.

　I'm not an expert in steelmaking.
　They don't teach me that in school.

　This is as far as I know.
　If you can make bronze, you should be able to make it if you teach it to this point.

　Hmmm. That's enough. As soon as you're finished, I'll send you some more grain.
　Good. Now we have the wheat.

　And you're going to tell me how to make a fire potion.

　The Fire Lotion?
　Oh you mean the black powder.

　It's made from a very limited supply of ingredients. And I'm the only one who knows how to make that stuff we think it's dangerous to spread the process.
　So you can't tell me what to do?
　I'm sure you will.

　As I said this, King Rosais sighed.

　'Then it can't be helped. It's true that if King Domorgal starts using that, it will be tricky. We'll be content with iron for now.'

　Good.
　You're a very helpful man.

　"How's the estate doing?　Your lands face King Domorgar.
　'That's about right. I'm still getting used to it, but with the help of Mr. Bartolo, I'm getting by.

　Huh?　Now that I think about it, she didn't do anything.

　Yeah. Well, good. Now let me give you some advice.

　Advice?　King Losey's own advice.

　All right. You better get to know your neighbors. A lot of people aren't happy with you.
　Yes. I know.

　It's important to build relationships.
　I did my best to flirt with him at my last wedding.

　You know Bartolo is about to have a baby, right?
　'Yes. I know.

　I've advised Bartolo to disinfect all of his birthing tools with boiling water and to disinfect his hands with alcohol.
　This should greatly reduce the risk of dying of puerperal fever.

　He'll probably have a celebration," he said. Go to it. You should have a gift for the whole family. I think a little honey would be nice.

　I don't need you to tell me what to do, but I will.
　What should I do about the souvenir?
　It's impossible to get enough honey for everyone.

　I need to think about that.

　One more thing.
　What is it?
　'Rigal Dibel be careful of the Dibel family. He's got an enemy in you. And you never hear good things about him.

　The Dibel family........as I recall, they were the most powerful house in King Rosais' country before I came.
　As I recall, its population is almost the same as that of my domain, the House of As.

　If it's possible, I'd like to be friends with them, but....

　But don't worry. I don't like the Dibel family. Neither does Bartolo. A third of the family is anti-Dibel. Do you know what this means?

　So you want me to be the first anti-Dibel.
　I don't want to get in trouble...

　I guess I can't blame them if they see me as an enemy.

　I'll think about it.
　I don't think you have to think about it, it just comes naturally to you. Deal with it. I'll be counting on you to help me.

　King Loseys stares at me.
　What ... what ... that look ...

　I have three years to live. So I want you to achieve great things within the next year. Otherwise, I'll have to do it.
　"Results....

　One more year and....
　Why does this man want me to accomplish something before I die?

　Because you won't be able to hold House Dibel?
　Or.....

　'The defeat of King Ferm, the making of ironware, the making of paper. It's more than enough by nature, but it's still not enough. You'll do great things in managing the realm. And defend your lands against King Domorgal. And then...
　Okay, I understand. I'll do my best.

　What the hell are you trying to say...





　Three weeks later, a letter came from King Rosais.

　He said, "We have succeeded in making iron.
　However, it is very low in strength and not very useful.

　Nevertheless, being able to make iron, he was able to invite the Cilician blacksmiths to join him in exchange for a large amount of salt.
　Perhaps they thought that if they were left to their own devices, we would be able to produce a good amount of iron anyway, so they decided to make money while they could.

　Even though it is useless, iron is still iron, and this is a good opportunity to invite the Cilician to join us, so we'll see more.
　I send them wheat immediately.
　This favor must be returned while you are still alive.

　He said, "You must repay this favor while you are alive.

　Well, if I can get wheat, I have no complaint.